The public prosecution department is to appeal against the 240 hour community service sentence handed down to a former VVD senator found guilty of corruption.

Jos van Rey had faced two years in jail but judges in Rotterdam on Tuesday said he should not be sent to prison.

Van Rey was found guilty of passing on confidential information to a potential candidate for the mayor’s job in Roermond, where he was a councillor. He was also found guilty of corruption, although without any great financial gain.

The prosecution department said it is appealing against the sentence given the severity of the facts of the case. ‘Corruption is corruption. There is no such thing as being a little corrupt,’ a spokesman told news agency ANP.

Investigation

The investigation into Van Rey began in 2012 when Limburg newspapers wrote about a potential conflict of interest due to his friendship with a property developer Piet van Pol.

The investigation then widened to include claims that he had leaked information about the selection procedure for the new Roermond mayor.

Telephone taps revealed Van Rey had leaked information to two candidates and passed on the names of candidates to others, including junior justice minister Fred Teeven.

The prosecution claimed Van Pol spent over €97,000 on Van Rey, taking him on visits to trade fairs in Munich and Cannes, international football matches and to his holiday home in France. In return he was given preferential treatment, confidential information and work at higher than normal rates, the prosecution said.

The court, however, ruled that the visits to the holiday home were due to the two men’s friendship rather than corruption.